With every new TV season comes an onslaught of guest stints and stunt casting. Last week’s season opener of “30 Rock” (7:30 p.m., NBC) was overshadowed by the presence of Jerry Seinfeld, but tonight’s episode belongs to series regulars and recurring characters.

Special guests can help a series, but the overreliance on bold-faced names can become a distraction for viewers and a sign that the writers have run out of original ideas for the cast and crew that attracted the regular audience in the first place. The worst example of a once-promising series using guest stars as a crutch was “Will & Grace” – particularly during its final years.

Tonight’s “30 Rock” sees the return of Will Arnett as Devin, Jack’s corporate rival who will do anything to climb the corporate ladder. In tonight’s “Rock,” he has become engaged to the CEO’s (Rip Torn) sad-sack daughter in spite of the fact that he is gay and extremely attracted to the naive but resourceful Kenneth, the NBC page.

Viewers may recall Arnett from “Arrested Development” or from the recent ice-skating spoof “Blades of Glory,” where he starred as half of a ruthless brother-sister skating team with his real-life wife Amy Poehler. Of course, fans of “30 Rock” need no reminding that Poehler stars on “SNL,” where she still does the “Weekend Update” segment, something she performed with Tina Fey before she left to create “30 Rock.”

¢ Tonight’s other guest stars include Edward Herrmann (“Gilmore Girls”), who appears as Dr. Norman Shales on “Grey’s Anatomy” (8 p.m., ABC). The versatile Herrmann has been a familiar face in TV and films for decades. Before “The Gilmore Girls” he was a recurring character on “The Practice,” playing Anderson Pearson in 10 episodes from 1997 to 2001. He also was featured in six episodes on HBO’s “Oz” from 2000 to 2003, playing Harrison Beecher. His voice has been heard narrating many a film on the History Channel.

Herrmann’s work has ranged from the acclaimed to the outrageous. In 2004, he appeared in the Oscar-nominated epic “The Aviator,” directed by Martin Scorsese. The next year he did a voiceover on the low budget and purposely inscrutable “Adult Swim” cartoon “Tom Goes to the Mayor.” Now that’s what I call range!

¢ In other guest-star news, Eva Marcille appears on “Smallville” (7 p.m., CW). For the uninitiated, she was the winner of the third season of “America’s Next Top Model.” I’m still not convinced that “Next Top Model” can turn its winners into household names like “American Idol,” but it does provide grist for the CW casting department. Marcille also appeared on an episode of “The Game,” playing herself.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Wake Forest hosts Florida State in college football (6:30 p.m., ESPN).

¢ A fellow inmate (Michael Rappaport) proves to be a key reason that Earl and Joy got together on “My Name Is Earl” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ Betty finds herself annoyed and intrigued by the new sandwich guy (Freddy Rodriguez) on “Ugly Betty” (7 p.m., ABC).

¢ As Michael begins to embrace Ryan’s new Web site, Dwight vows to fight it on “The Office” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ The sole survivor of a mass family murder claims her soul belongs to Satan on “CSI” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ A missing young man may have been brutalized during his volunteer work in Central America on “Without a Trace” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ Abby and Morris try to save two bullet-ridden police officers on “ER” (9 p.m., NBC).